I have had these over a month and they dont work. I have a new battery door coming but started this over a month ago. Every time I want to call Garmin it is over an hour hold. I dont have time outside working hours to deal with this. Its either miss a workout or try to get ahold of Garmin. I read the other reviews prior with some positive and some negative but assumed since it had been so long they had their issues resolved. Very frustrating and I only gave it 2 stars because I am hopeful.
Replaced my Power Tap with the Vector 3 on my Road Bike. I also purchased the Garmin 1030 to replace my older Garmin. The combination of Vector 3 and Garmin's Edge 1030 is a powerful tool for my training. I highly recommend these platforms if you are serious about your performance metrics.
Right when you get them Garmin suggests taking the battery housing apart to check the tourq on the axle nut. For the price of the pedal you shouldn't have to do this. I won't buy them again.
Much has been said regarding this product, all very accurate, so I will try to add new information that I hadnt found before the purchase. The left pedal is the master and the right pairs to the left. The batteries that came with the pedals needed replacement immediately. After new batteries, software updates, constant resetting of the pedals (remove the batteries for a few seconds), there are still problems keeping the power meters connected. The latest fix from Garmin is new battery covers with larger contacts, which customer service will send you for free. Since replacing these, Ive had zero issues and enjoyed a great product that works well with the garmin head unit, giving me more than enough data to analyze. Another very minor detail is that the screws and metal plates that mount the cleats (the ones they come with) onto your shoe are slightly different sizes than the standard. So if you need to replace one screwplate (ie you lose one on a ride), save yourself the hassle and just buy a set of replacement cleats.
Summary Purchase the pedals, start with fresh replacement batteries, update the software, replace the battery covers. Enjoy the ride!
I got the original ones shipped that people were having trouble with drop outs and crazy power readings. I knew it was a possibility when I bought them in June of 2018. So when I first got them they were terrible and essentially unusable as a power meter or cadence sensor. I contacted Garmin and it took them about a month to send me the re designed battery door. After installing the battery doors they have been great. They are the best looking power pedals on the market in my opinion and the data is on par with anything else you could purchase at this price point. My only gripe is that the battery depleted much sooner then advertised. It says 120 hours but Ive gotten more like 60 hours before the low battery indicator started giving me warnings . Ive put another 12 hours or so on them without changing the battery and they didnt die. Garmin says indicator means you have approx 20 hours left. I plan on changing them today and I will see how many hours I get out of the new ones. I have a suspension the signal drops from the old battery doors may have contributed to their diminished life span but we shall see. And if I get 80 hours out of them Im honestly okay with it the batteries are only a few bucks
Combined with the Garmin 1030, these provide a lot of useful information. They install like any other pedal - super easy. So it's pretty simple to move between bikes if necessary. I've had them for a month or so, and so far, I'm pretty impressed.
Good overall, records power and cycling Dynamics nicely with one caveat...
I had to preload the batteries so they would not rattle loose and lose connection during riding.
Other than the self induced fixed on the battery covers the pedals work fine.
Great look pedals with huge amount of data available. Bluetooth connections suck must use ant with 1030.
Seems the software on 1030 or pedals is sketchy i've spent many hour s with tech support trying to get them to work consistently. Hoping the bugs get worked out soon.
I can't say enough good things about the Vector 3 pedals! The level of detail in the Garmin Connect phone ap is beyond belief. I had a stages power meter on my previous bike that gave me good information on one foot. Although the price is steep, the integration of the Vector pedal into the Garmin 1000 is a deciding factor. The graphical view of your power phase and other aspects is great! The ONLY bad thing is that after a couple of months of use, there were intermittent connection issues. They were tracked down to a defective battery door. This seems to be a pervasive issue which is well documented. A new door is on the way and I am confident that it will resolve the issue permanently. Be sure to check out the battery maintenance doc in Garmin support. I think a little Vaseline on the battery contacts goes a long way to making Vector perfect!
Bought it in February, used it over 300 miles all road biking. Not one single ride when it worked. Works for 3-4 min initially then drops out, then my Garmin 1030 searching for it for 4-5 min, then works for 2min then drops out again. Then gives an error of right power meter is missing.
These pedals work well. However, it took me two sets to get it right. The first set of pedals would not connect the right pedal. After hours of trouble shooting with Garmin I returned them and got a new pair of pedals that work great. Garmin's technical support is great and their customer support sent me my new pedals quickly.
I experienced signal drops on the first ride and thought it was battery related and changed. I continued to get ocasional signal drops on future rides and then an indication the right pedal was missing and then nothing, no power readings. I should have checked with the Garmin forum, lots of issues for folks. Some have zeo problems and love them but many like me having the same experience. Garmin is working on a redesign of the battery holder as well as firmware updates, not sure why they keep shipping product with known issues but no remedy.
These are my first power meter pedals and use of a power meter outside of a spin class. So far it has been a bit of a learning curve. Pluses are less bulky and lighter than the competition, syncs seamlessly with the 820 head unit, great customization of data screens, prompts calibration automatically, swappable between bikes. Minuses dont know about accuracy, cant Bluetooth connect to more than one device ie. head unit and training softwareVirtual routes for indoor training, had one ride where one pedal didnt read at all, then it kicked in- never figured out what happened, and lastly is expensive when Ive lived without one and still would rather just be riding and listening to my body. In summary, data is more novel than useful until FTP and training goals established. Still working on base miles for early spring.
I have owned many Garmin products over the years and is as usual for the company they release products and the wait for the public to find problems and then Garmin slowly and I do mean slow,y fixes them through firmware updates. I rode the Garmin Vector 2 pedals for three years and the same thing happened with those when they came out. I was hoping this would not be the case with the Vector 3 put I was wrong. They were working fine and then there was a firmware update a few weeks go to add I guess better Bluetooth connectivity and well that was the end of my pedals. I continue to get a error message that the right pedal is missing. I followed every possible recommendation ontheGarminforum and it still did not work. I talked to customer support a week ago and they were sending me out a new battery holder. I still do not have it so I have nonfunctional power unit. It is frustrating beyond belief dealing with Garmin and their products. Oh, I doubt it is the battery holder so the next step would to give me a new set of pedals. I'm sure that will take a month.
I will never buy another Garmin product.
I love these pedals. They are super easy to install. The pedal platform is very stable and feels stiff and secure like a good Look or SPD-SL pedal. Cleat wear has been good so far. The weather seals are a little tight when you first get them, but this is actually a good thing if you ride in the rain. Power numbers has been comparable to my Quarq, so I'm happy.
This is my third power measurement system and so far easily my favorite. After using the classic power to hub system, I upgraded to a Quark crankset, which I continue to use.
I bought the Garmin pedals for a second bike. The pedals install like any other pedals which make them a much easier upgrade than the cranks. They pedals also offer additional information, such as power center offset, not available with other measurement systems.
I've found the power phase information particular helpful in improving my pedal stroke and efficiency.
I've used them for about 1000 miles and haven't had to replace the batteries yet.
I moved from Shimano Dura-ace SPD-SL pedals to these Garmin Vector 3's and was pleasantly surprised that the Garmin's feel just as solid as the Shimano pedals did. The difference obviously is that I can now read power via the pedals. Overall, the Garmin cleats work well and install basically the same as my old SPD-SLs.
If I had one negative to say about the pedals so far, it is that the seals on the bearings are a little tight, so the pedals don't spin as freely as my previous Shimano pedals. which means sometimes they are in a weird position when you clip in. I'm assuming these seals will loosen up after a few more months of training.
I bought a ton of batteries (They are cheap) in anticipation that I would need to change these out fairly often, but I'm up to 30 hours or so of riding and no need to change so far.
Overall, very happy with the Garmin pedals and they are super easy to install and move from bike to bike. That's going to be a big help for me later in the season when I move the pedals from my road bike to my time trial bike and back.
